Social media addiction in high school students: examining its relationship with school burnout, fear of negative evaluation and cognitive avoidance

Today, adolescents’ use of social media increasingly common, even including during school hours and class sessions. To address this issue and design effective interventions, it is essential to understand the psychological factors contributing to the overuse of social media. The current study examined connections among three important psychological constructs (school burnout, fear of receiving a poor grade, and cognitive avoidance) and high school students’ addiction to social media.. Research was conducted with 251 students of high school in the Turkish city center of the Western Black Sea Region. Among the participants, 57% (n = 143) were male and 43% (n = 108) were female, between the ages of 14 and 18.The Social Media Addiction Scale, the School Burnout Inventory, the Fear of Negative Evaluation Scale, and the Cognitive Avoidance Questionnaire were among the self-report tools used to gather the data. The data was analyzed using path analysis. The findings indicated substantial positive correlations between school burnout, and social media addiction, fear of negative evaluation, and cognitive avoidance. Specifically, higher levels of school burnout, fear of negative evaluation, and cognitive avoidance were associated with increased levels of social media addiction. These findings imply that when students experience social anxiety, academic stress, or trouble regulating their emotions, they may resort to social media as a maladaptive coping strategy. Several suggestions are made for researchers, educators, parents, and legislators in light of these findings.